


What Do You Mean You're Not on Steroids?

by zorelzuli



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alex is in college, Alternate Universe - High School, Eventual Romance, F/F, Fluff and Humor, Minor Samantha "Sam" Arias/Alex Danvers, kara has powers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2018-11-12
Packaged: 2019-08-10 21:16:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16462478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zorelzuli/pseuds/zorelzuli
Summary: “So football… What is it that you do?”“I’m the quarterback!”Of course she is, Lena thought, trying not to scoff at how cliché everything was becoming.AKA a high school AU where Lena is a transfer student and Kara plays football.





	1. First Days Aren't All Bad

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, I've never really had the guts to post anything before, but I love the idea of Kara playing football in high school. There are some fics already about that, but I wanted to make my own! I apologize for any mistakes!

 

As she walked down the hall of the unfamiliar building, Lena heard the whispers all around her. It was something she was used to by now. She had been the new girl many times before, and even though the schools were all different, the students never seemed to change.  
  
“Is that _her_?”  
  
“Yeah, that’s definitely Lena Luthor.”  
  
“What’s she doing here? I thought she lived in National City.”  
  
“Isn’t her mom in prison? And her brother’s, like, insane.”  
  
Lena sighed quietly, trying to ignore the stares. _At least some things stay the same._

With her head down, she continued to make her way through the busy hallway. Not paying much attention to her surroundings, she collided with someone else in her path. 

It was like hitting a brick wall. Stunned, Lena lost her balance, and swayed to one side.

“I’m so sorry!” the taller girl said as she grabbed Lena’s arm to steady her. “I didn’t see you there! Are you okay?”  
  
“Don’t worry about me, I just wasn’t looking where I was going.”  
  
“I’ve never seen you around before, and I know everyone here. Are you new?”

“Yes, and I’m going to be late to my first class, so if you don’t mind…”

“Oh! Sorry again,” the blonde girl said as she let go of Lena. “I’ll see you around?” she waved, walking in the opposite direction of where Lena was headed.

The encounter was brief, but everyone nearby started to talk about it.

“Did you see that? Kara talked to the new girl.”

“She said ‘I’ll see you around’, does she even know who she ran into?”

“Kara _touched her arm_.”  
  
“God I wish that was me.”

As her day progressed, Lena heard all kinds of stories about Kara Danvers.

“Kara Danvers is flawless,” one girl whispered in her AP Calculus class.

“Her hair is insured for $10,000,” Lena overheard another student say dreamily as she passed him in the hallway.

“Kara is absolutely shredded. I heard she has an 8-pack,” a girl stated in her AP Computer Science class.

“One time, she met Superman on a plane, and he told her she was pretty.”

The comments were growing increasingly ridiculous, but they intimidated Lena nonetheless.

The most alarming rumor, however, came straight from a teacher. “One time, she threw me off a building. It was awesome,” the older blonde woman said. Lena wasn’t sure what was going on at this school, but that statement seemed too extreme. Maybe it was a joke, and the staff was in on it too? Lena had no idea.

Actually meeting Kara for more than a few seconds was a completely different story. It had been during her fourth class of the day, AP Physics, when she got to see the girl everyone couldn’t stop talking about.

Lena was sitting toward the back of the classroom. She gazed lazily out the window while her teacher, Ms. Grant, was introducing herself and discussing what the class would entail. The loud crash of the classroom door smashing into the wall caused Lena to snap her head to the front.

“Sorry I’m late Ms. Grant! I forgot my new locker combination and accidentally broke the lock again. I had to go downstairs to get another one,” Kara said, her hair wild and glasses askew.  
  
“Ms. Danvers, just how many times are you going to use that excuse? You’re not a freshman anymore. There are only so many times a student can break their lock before it turns into a very poor excuse for being lazy. Don’t let it happen again. Now take a seat.”  
  
Kara, a blush creeping up her face, hung her head slightly in shame as she made her way toward the back. “Yes Ms. Grant,” she uttered apologetically once she sat down.

Lena took the time to truly study the girl. Kara ended up sitting a row ahead of her, one seat to the left of Lena’s. She was tall, but not as tall as everyone made her out to be. Her hair _was_ gorgeous, and she definitely seemed to work out, so her having an 8-pack could be true as well. 

Ms. Grant speaking again brought Lena back to reality.

“-since you don’t seem to mind being late to class, you can show Ms. Luthor around campus for the rest of the week.”

Lena had no idea what Ms. Grant was talking about until Kara turned in her seat and gave Lena a bright smile. _How did she get her teeth to be so white?_

“Hi! I’m Kara Danvers, I told you I’d see you around. It’s Lena, right?” The blonde girl already had her arm outstretched, her hand hanging in the air waiting for Lena to take it.

Lena cautiously shook her hand, startled by how warm it was. “Yes, that’s right. I guess you’ll be showing me the school then?”  
  
Kara’s smile only grew bigger. “It’s kind of a tradition here. They have someone who knows the buildings really well to chaperone new students for a few days. Sorry, but you’re stuck with me now!”

Lena wasn’t sure yet if that was going to be a good thing or not.

“You’re going to love it here!” Kara all but shouted in excitement. “And don’t worry, if anyone tries to mess with you, just say you’re friends with me.” Kara leaned a bit closer and lowered her voice so only Lena could hear. “A lot of people think I’ll beat them up, but that’s not true. Even though it’s not, I still use it to my advantage.”

_Friends?_ Lena tried to hide her surprise. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had referred to her as a friend. How was this the same girl everyone gossiped about so much? The rumors weren’t all necessarily bad, but they made Kara seem like a tyrant who only cared about herself. From just two interactions, Lena was positive that wasn’t true.

She offered Kara a small smile in return. “Thank you. I just moved from National City, so I don’t know anyone here,” Lena said.

“No way! National City?! It’s my dream to live there! What’s it like?” Kara, wide-eyed, asked enthusiastically.

Ms. Grant’s sharp interruption stopped Lena from responding. “Ms. Danvers! First, you’re late to my class, and now you’re talking over me with your obnoxious, grating voice? Being a senior this year does not mean you’re exempt from getting kicked out of my class!”

Kara’s expression reminded Lena of a kicked puppy as she turned around in her seat to face the front of the room.

Lena forced herself not to laugh, simply because she didn’t want to be called out by Ms. Grant and be humiliated in front of everyone in her class.

 

* * *

 

After the bell rang to signify the end of their class, Kara immediately stood and turned to face Lena.

“Did you maybe wanna go have lunch with me? Wait, is your lunch period now? Are you a senior?”

“Technically, yes, I am,” Lena answered as she began to walk to the classroom’s door.

“Technically?” Kara followed, tilting her head to the side, the confusion evident.

“I’m considered a senior in high school, but I’ll have completed a bachelor’s degree as well when I graduate.”  
  
“Oh okay! You must be really smart then,” Kara said, another smile on her face as she pushed her glasses up her nose.

_Does this girl ever stop smiling?_ Lena found it hard to keep herself from grinning too whenever she looked at Kara. “I guess you could say that.”

Kara opened the door for Lena, gesturing for her to walk through and go out into the hall. “Do you know where the cafeteria is?”  
  
“I have no idea, so you’ll come in handy after all.”  
  
Kara confidently puffed out her chest, not realizing Lena was teasing her. “I’ll be the best tour guide ever! Except I’m not going to take you to the cafeteria,” she added a bit sheepishly.

“Why not?” Lena asked as Kara steered them in the opposite direction of everyone else in the hallway overflowing with students.

“Too crowded. I hope that’s okay? Did you bring your own lunch?”

“No, I was going to buy something here.”  
  
“Don’t worry, I have more than enough food. I can share with you!” Kara beamed down at Lena, her smile practically blinding the younger girl.  
  
There was no way Lena could object, even if she had wanted to, so she continued to follow Kara wherever she was headed. _Why is she being so nice to me? Is she this nice to everyone?_

Eventually they made it out of the school with Kara walking in front. After a few moments passed, Lena realized they were approaching a large green field.

“This is the football field,” Kara declared, eyes bright. She threw her arms open wide as she turned around and started walking backwards. “It was recently renovated, isn’t it awesome? The school received a _huge_ donation from some rich people!”

Lena kept her face neutral. She knew exactly who those rich people were. The donation came from her family after all. Lena wasn't sure why, but she didn't want Kara to know. _Why do I care if she knows? She's had to have heard about me before._ Lena was, at the very least, glad she was able to see someone look so happy about the new field. At least her family’s money was able to create some form of good.

Kara continued, not noticing Lena’s lack of words. “-well, it’s also the soccer field, which is called football too, so it’s both, but right now it’s football season, like, American football, and-”

Lena couldn’t help but think how adorable the blonde was as she rambled. _God why did she have to be the one to show me the school? She definitely has to be dating someone, right? Probably some guy as equally popular as her._ Lena’s face twisted in disgust at the thought of some uncaring boy touching Kara with his clumsy, grubby hands.

“I heard you played football,” Lena said, trying to distract herself from those sudden thoughts. “Is that true? I thought teenage girls typically sat on the sidelines and swooned over sweaty meatheads fighting each other to hold an oddly shaped ball.”  
  
“Hey now!” Kara exclaimed. “You’re talking to one of those sweaty meatheads!” She laughed, so Lena knew no offense was taken. “But you’re right, girls usually don’t play. The coach saw me throw the ball one day though and practically begged me to try out. He said I had a better arm than Patrick Mahomes.”  
  
“Who?” Lena asked, the name completely unfamiliar to her. _Most likely a football player,_ she thought.

“Oh, never mind. He’s just a guy from the NFL.”

“So what you’re saying is that you’re better than a professional athlete?” Lena raised an eyebrow at the blonde.

“I’m the first girl who’s ever been on Midvale’s football team! I’m kind of a big deal,” Kara said as she put her hands on her hips, standing tall and proud.

Lena thought she looked rather heroic, and the stance suited her, despite her glasses being a bit lopsided on her face.

“Impressive. You’ll have to tell me when you play,” Lena said fondly. 

“Of course! You should totally come to some of the games, you’ll meet tons of great people!”

Lena wasn’t sure how accurate that statement was. Kara seemed quite popular, so it made sense why she thought everyone at school was so welcoming and nice. Lena on the other hand had never experienced that kind of attention. Well, not the good kind of attention anyway.

“I’ll hold you to that, but why exactly did you bring me here?” Lena looked around, wondering why Kara wanted to eat at the football field.

“Well it’s a really nice day out today! And sitting on the bleachers is way better than being in the cafeteria. Everyone is so loud, and kids in the lower grades try to start food fights sometimes and I just like it better out here,” the blonde said, barely taking a breath in-between her words.  
  
Kara led Lena over to the bleachers and took a seat on the first row. She tugged her backpack off, setting it gently on the ground. She pat the empty spot beside her, urging Lena to sit.

Lena tentatively sat down, careful to leave enough space between herself and Kara.

“So I have, like, a few different sandwiches, you can choose whatever you want,” Kara said, seeming embarrassed, as she unzipped her bag and pulled out a container that presumably held her lunch.

It was comically large. Lena had no idea if the other girl even had anything else in her backpack. She thought Kara had been joking about the sandwiches, but it seemed she actually undersold the amount of food she brought with her.

Kara opened the container and set down the various items around them, all of which were wrapped neatly in parchment paper.

“I have ham and cheese, half of a chicken tender sub, peanut butter and jelly, turkey with swiss cheese, a Rueben, and one wrap with lots of vegetables and slices of chicken because my mom says I need to eat more green things,” Kara scrunched up her nose at the mention of vegetables.

Lena just stared at what the blonde considered lunch. _How could one person eat all this food? Is she on steroids? That would make sense, but she could get in serious trouble…_

“Why did you bring so much food?” Lena eyed the container suspiciously and saw the other girl had more than just sandwiches with her.

Kara’s cheeks grew red and she played with her glasses, not sure what to do with her hands. “Um, well, I just get really hungry throughout the day. I have practice after school, so all of this isn’t just for lunch time.”

Lena wasn’t sure what it was, but she felt like Kara was hiding something. _I really hope she’s not using steroids._

She barely knew the girl, so it wasn’t her place to pry, but she was curious and wanted to know more about her.

Lena picked up the wrap labeled “Eat your veggies, Kara!” and started to take the parchment paper off. Kara gave her a grateful look, clearly not excited to eat something full of vegetables.

“So football… What is it that you do?” Lena asked, taking a hesitant bite out of the wrap. It was quite good, and Lena wasn’t sure why she was surprised. All of Kara’s food was probably made with love. _I guess some people really do have caring mothers._  
  
Kara’s eyes lit up at the question, excited Lena was asking about one of her favorite pastimes.

“I’m the quarterback!” Kara exclaimed, picking up one of her numerous sandwiches.

_Of course she is,_ Lena thought, trying not to scoff at how cliché everything was becoming.

Kara continued to talk as she unwrapped her sandwich. “The coach was interested in my arm the most, you know, since I throw well, so it makes sense. If I really wanted to, I could probably be a good running back, but none of the other players are better at being the quarterback than me.”

“Oh, how humble of you.”  
  
“I’m just telling you what my coach told me!” Kara took a huge bite out of her sandwich, her cheeks puffing out like a chipmunk. “I dun mer er ules ound her ya no.”

Lena lost all composure immediately and started to laugh uncontrollably. _How can someone so popular be such a huge dork?_

“Kara,” Lena began, holding her sides as her laughter died down, “you’re going to have to repeat that once you’ve swallowed your food.”  
  
Looking a bit guilty, Kara repeated her last statement. “I said, ‘I don’t make the rules here you know’.”

“You could have fooled me.”  
  
“What?” Kara asked, confusion flooding her features.   
  
“You have this whole school wrapped around your finger. I figured that out already and I’ve only been here half a day,” Lena finished, watching as Kara ducked her head to stare intently at the ground.

“It’s not like I wanted that to happen,” she breathed out quietly. “In fact, all the attention makes me nervous. I feel like I can’t just be _me_ , you know? I always have to be careful about what I do and what I say.”  
  
Lena knew exactly what the blonde meant. She was a bit taken aback by how similar they were despite how opposite they appeared on the outside. Lena had only known her for a few hours, but she already felt closer to Kara than she had felt to anyone over the past few years.

“I know we just met today, but you don’t have to be afraid to be yourself around me. I won’t judge you, I promise.”  
  
Kara lifted her head back up, shooting a brilliant smile in Lena’s direction. “Thank you, that means a lot to me. I think we could end up being great friends.”  
  
“I thought we already were friends?” Lena gasped dramatically, clutching at her chest as if Kara’s words physically hurt her.

The blonde laughed at Lena’s antics. “I wasn’t sure if you even wanted to be friends! I just sort of attacked you with my friendship, and that’s not cool. I need friendship consent.”  
  
Lena knew Kara was being silly, but the comment warmed her heart anyway. _She’s definitely not your average boneheaded jock._ Not that Lena had ever thought that in the short period of time she knew of the other girl’s existence, but it was nice to experience her smart and kindhearted nature personally.

_I would be an absolute idiot to deny this girl’s friendship._ Lena, however, pretended to seriously consider the blonde’s offer. Kara watched her, waiting expectantly for an answer.

“After carefully calculating all the pros and cons, I think it’s in my best interest to accept your request,” Lena said, a hint of humor laced in her words.

Kara's blinding smile returned, but before she could respond, a dull whistling sound reached Lena’s ears. Confused at the noise, she turned her head to the right, in Kara’s direction, only to see something speeding toward her face. She instantly closed her eyes, bracing for the impact.

Lena heard the _thunck_ of the object coming into contact with skin but didn’t feel anything. Slowly opening her eyes, she saw the tip of a football inches away from her nose.

_Wait, what?_

It was the first time Lena had heard Kara raise her voice. “SAM! YOU JERK! Watch where you’re throwing this thing! You could’ve hit Lena!” the blonde shouted, her tone dripping in frustration. 

Lena tried to slow her racing heartbeat. _How did Kara even see that ball? I barely had enough time to close my eyes._

“Sorry Little Danvers! I figured you’d catch it anyway,” the girl named Sam yelled back from halfway across the football field. “You mind tossing it back?”

Kara narrowed her eyes at the other girl. "I told you not to call me that!"

Lena watched as the blonde's face changed, a playful glint dancing in her eyes.

Kara repositioned the ball in her right hand and pulled her arm back. She focused her gaze on Sam, then launched the ball across the field. Sam caught the ball against her stomach, but the force of it knocked her onto the ground. Lena looked at Kara, shocked by how hard she was able to throw the football. _No wonder they wanted her on the team._

“KARA! WHAT THE HELL! SAVE IT FOR PRACTICE, WOULD YOU?!” Sam shouted from her spot in the grass, her breathing labored.

“Maybe you should’ve been more considerate!” Kara stuck her tongue out at Sam, despite no one being able to see the action except Lena.

Finally able to pull herself together, Lena looked at Kara incredulously. “How did you catch that?”  
  
“I have quick reflexes,” Kara answered, her statement almost sounding like a question.

“Well that’s lucky!” Lena had no idea why those were the words that decided to come out of her mouth.

“Yeah…” the blonde laughed a bit nervously, avoiding Lena’s inquisitive gaze.

“Thank you. For stopping the ball. I probably would’ve gotten a concussion from that.”  
  
Kara gave her a small smile. “What are friends for?”


	2. The End of the Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have like 84 projects due, but this is what I decided to write instead. I need to re-evaluate my priorities.

_Kara gave her a small smile. “What are friends for?”_

Lena wasn’t sure how to respond to that. What _were_ friends for? Did all friends seem to care as much as Kara? She didn’t know, but she had a feeling the answer was no.

Kara spoke up again, breaking the growing silence. “We should probably start heading back soon.”

“What about your friend over there?”

“Oh, Sam? She’ll be fine,” Kara said, glancing over at the brunette still on the ground. “She’s been through worse playing softball.”

Lena bit her tongue, stopping the joke that was about to slip out of her mouth. She wasn’t sure how Kara would respond, and decided it was best to let it go.

“So what’s your next class?” Kara asked as she began to pack up the remaining food items that were left on the bleachers.

“AP Microeconomics. It’s in Seidler Hall.” At least Lena thought it was, she hadn’t completely memorized her schedule yet.

“Do you only take AP classes?”

“How else would I be able to pursue a master’s degree right after high school?”

“Jeez, you make the rest of us look like slackers!”

“That has just… always been expected of me. It’s not so bad though, I enjoy learning.”

“So your parents want you to get all these degrees?” Kara leaned forward, placing her elbows on her knees as she propped her head up in her hands.

Lena thought it was cute how interested Kara seemed to be.

“I’m sure you’ve heard of me before,” was all Lena said, not sure how much information the blonde already knew. They only just met today, and Lena didn’t want to scare her off so soon.

“Well I know some things, like how you’ve got a lot of money because your family owns LuthorCorp, a billion-dollar corporation. But that doesn’t tell me anything about _you_ ,” Kara responded softly.

Lena scanned the other girl’s face for any kind of maliciousness, but all she found was curiosity. Kara seemed sincere, and there was nothing in her eyes that suggested she had some kind of ulterior motive. Lena trusted her and found herself wanting to tell Kara every single detail of her life.

“What would you like to know?”

“Gosh, I don’t know, you could start at the beginning,” Kara said as she looked at the watch around her wrist then stood, offering her hand to Lena.

After staring for far too long, Lena took it. Kara gently pulled her up, barely looking phased by the amount of effort that went into helping a grown person off the bleachers. Lena realized she was still holding Kara’s hand despite the fact that she was on her feet. She hastily dropped it and moved her hands down to rearrange the hem of her shirt.

Ignoring all of the warnings in her head that advised her against sharing anything about herself, Lena started to tell her story. “I was adopted when I was 4 years old-”

“Really? I was too!” Kara interjected as she slung her backpack over her shoulder and began to walk. “Well, not when I was 4, it was only a few years ago. I was 13.”

If it had been anyone else, Lena might have been annoyed at the interruption, but she was glad Kara stopped her. She wasn’t sure if she could talk about her childhood without getting emotional, and she really didn’t want to cry in front of someone she just met.

To say the least, Lena was shocked Kara had been adopted at such an old age. Parents always seemed to want babies, not teenagers who have already created bonds with other people and formed their own opinions. Kara must’ve had another life entirely before being adopted. _What happened to her parents? And the rest of her family?_ The thought made Lena’s heart ache.

“You don’t hear that every day, so are you from here?” Lena asked, following along beside Kara as they made their way back toward the main grounds of the school.

Kara’s eyebrows pulled together, her entire body going rigid. “Wh-what do you mean? Like from Earth? Of course I’m from Earth!”

The response was so absurd Lena couldn’t keep herself from laughing.

“Kara, _obviously_ you’re from Earth, I was simply asking if you were from Midvale or someplace else,” Lena added, a few more giggles escaping her lips.

Kara visibly relaxed once Lena finished speaking. Her shoulders sunk a bit lower and her facial features smoothed out, the crinkle between her eyebrows disappearing.

“Yes, wait no, I’m not from Midvale. I came here. I used to live far away,” Kara responded nervously.

“Far away? Like another country?”

“Exactly!”

“Which one?” Lena wasn’t sure why the blonde was acting so strange. She felt bad being so nosy, especially if her questions were bringing back traumatic memories, but she was curious about Kara’s life.

“Uh- you know, the big one… Russia.”

“Russia?” Now that she thought about it, Kara _did_ seem to have a faint accent, but it was unrecognizable unless someone was really listening for it.

“Yes, I grew up in Russia. My dad was a scientist and was researching environmental sustainability. Both of my parents died in an explosion there.”

Lena paid close attention to the way Kara’s mouth moved as she spoke. It looked almost unnatural, the way the words didn’t quite fit on her lips, like she had to force herself to form foreign syllables. The more Kara revealed about herself, the more questions Lena seemed to have.

“Why did your father go to Russia to do his research?”

“The Russians supposedly had some sort of breakthrough technology that would combat climate change or something, I’m not entirely sure, it’s been awhile,” Kara said, looking everywhere except Lena’s eyes.

Lena had never heard of any kind of specific technology that met Kara’s description, but then again it could have been firmly kept a secret. Her family was powerful, but they weren’t omniscient. She had no reason to doubt Kara’s story, and why would she lie about the death of her parents?

“I’m truly sorry, Kara. I shouldn’t have been so invasive.”

“Oh no, don’t worry about it. You’re not the only one.” Kara’s voice was distant as she shoved her hands into the front pockets of her pants.

Lena could see the pain start to cloud the other girl’s face. All of the loss and grief seemed to weigh Kara down. Her head was hanging low, her eyes trained on her feet as the two of them continued their stroll across campus. Lena wished she could hug her, but she didn’t want to cross an invisible line. She had gone through many hardships in her own life, but at least she hadn’t been ripped away from everything she knew when she was 13 years old. Even though the woman who raised her had never really loved her and was currently in prison, she was still alive. Her father was alive too and cared deeply for her. Sure, he was gone most of the time, but she saw him occasionally. Lena couldn’t believe she was actually thinking her family situation was better than someone else’s.

“I’m sure you have plenty of other friends, but if you ever needed someone to talk to, you could always talk to me,” Lena offered, her tone gentle.

Kara lifted her head back up, a small smile gracing her lips. “Thank you. I don’t normally dump such heavy topics on someone before I even know their middle name. I’m sorry for being such a downer.”

“It’s Kieran.”

“What?”

“My middle name,” Lena clarified. “It’s Kieran.”

“Kieran. Kiiiieeeerrrraann. I like it, it sounds nice.”

“You do know it’s a boy’s name, right?”

“So? Down with gender norms!” Kara continued to repeat Lena’s middle name in different ways, testing various pronunciations while she grinned the entire time.

Lena smiled fondly at the blonde, happy Kara’s thoughts were elsewhere now. She seemed to have regained her lighthearted demeanor now that her mind wasn’t focused on her parents.

Finally making it back to the cluster of buildings, Kara jogged ahead and yanked open the nearest one’s door. “You said your class was in Seidler Hall, this is it! Fun fact from your friendly neighborhood tour guide: us old people know this building as AB7.”

“AB7? Why did it change?” Lena made her way inside, Kara entering a few steps behind her.

“Sometimes people who donate a lot of money to the school buy buildings and have them renamed after themselves. That happened about two years ago with good ole Academic Building 7. Some people think they’re cooler when they know it was called AB7, so I thought I’d let you in on the secret,” Kara finished, sending a wink Lena’s way once she caught up beside her again.

Lena could feel the blush heating up her face. _Oh my god, she wants me dead. She’s just being friendly, stop being creepy!_

“What’s your classroom number?”

Grateful for the distraction, Lena pulled out her phone and found the picture she had saved of her class schedule. “It’s room 114.”

“Awesome, that’s right around the corner. My Statistics class is here too.”

“Statistics? See, you’re not a slacker. You take tough classes.” Lena figured Kara had to be fairly intelligent if she was in AP Psychics and Statistics. “And you’re on the football team.”

“I also write for the school’s newspaper,” Kara added, leading Lena down a small hallway.

Lena hadn’t been expecting that. “You can write?”

The quarterback writing for the school paper? That was practically unheard of in high school. _Isn’t everyone obsessed with sticking to the status quo?_ Kara was becoming a greater mystery as each second passed.

“Well, lots of people can write, but that doesn’t mean they're any good at it,” Kara said a bit smugly.

“Are _you_ good at it?” Lena was starting to think there wasn’t anything Kara couldn’t do. The rumors about the blonde were starting to make more sense to her as she continued to get to know the other girl better.

Kara slipped her backpack off and began to dig around inside it. After a few seconds, she triumphantly pulled out a battered newspaper clipping.

“See for yourself, this was from a few months ago during my junior year.” Kara cheerfully handed over the piece of paper, seeming excited at the idea of Lena reading her work. “But don’t read it now, you have class. There’s the room over there!”

Lena looked to her left where Kara was pointing. From the outside, the room appeared to be extremely small, but as she walked closer, Lena could tell the inside was much larger. She was positive the number of students in the class exceeded typical state policies regarding classroom sizes.

“Thank you for bringing me here.”

“It was no problem at all!” Kara flashed a brilliant smile in Lena’s direction. “My class is literally right down the hall.”

Lena felt lightheaded. The blonde was already causing her to feel too many things all at once. How was she going to focus in the rest of her classes for the day when all she wanted to do was talk to Kara? _This is going to be the longest two and a half hours of my life._

“Will I see you after school?”

Kara’s smile somehow grew even bigger than it already was. “Of course! The newspaper has weekly meetings on Mondays at 3:30, but I can walk you to your car or something before then.”

Even though the other girl wouldn’t be able to hang around after school for long, Lena was still glad to be able to see her at all.

“That sounds great,” Lena said as she made her way into the classroom, waving as Kara headed to her own class.

“See you later!” Kara waved as well and didn’t stop until Lena was out of her sight.

Finding an empty seat in the front of the room, Lena couldn’t keep the smile off her face during the entire class period.

* * *

At 3:05 p.m., the school bell pierced the air, ending the first day of the new school year. The students of Midvale High rushed out of their classrooms, all wanting to get to their lockers before the hallways became too crowded with bodies.

Lena stayed behind, waiting until everyone else had packed up and left before she decided to leave herself. She had no idea what Kara’s last class of the day was, and she wished she had asked the other girl prior to her departure. She hadn’t asked for Kara’s number either, so she wasn’t sure how the blonde was going to find her.

_Why didn’t I think of this sooner? What did I think she was going to do, scream my name until she found me?_ Lena was lost in her thoughts as she maneuvered around various students between her and her locker. She didn’t even know where Kara’s locker was. _I guess I could ask a teacher, but they probably wouldn’t share that information with another student…_

Twisting her lock to enter the proper combination, she sighed despondently, wondering why she hadn’t planned her meeting with Kara better.

“HEY LENA!”

The sudden exclamation caused Lena to jerk in surprise, her hand grasping the lock unfortunately smacking the person behind her directly in the middle of their face.

“Oh my god,” Lena gasped, immediately dropping the lock to the floor. She turned to find Kara standing there, startled by Lena’s reaction. “Kara, are you hurt?! I’m so sorry! You scared me- oh no, I broke your glasses, I’ll buy you n-”

“Lena! It’s okay!” Kara grabbed Lena’s shoulders, attempting to calm the other girl down. “It’s not a big deal, I barely even felt it.”

Lena was having a hard time believing that, especially because her hand stung from the impact of hitting Kara. Trying not to panic, she analyzed the blonde’s face, looking to make sure the broken glasses hadn’t cut Kara. The lenses were cracked, but still intact. _Okay, that’s a good sign._ The force caused the frames to bend backward at an awkward angle, harshly smashing themselves into Kara’s face. _Oh god, she’s going to have a black eye, I ruined her face!_

“Should I take you to the nurse? Do you think your nose is going to start bleeding?” Lena didn’t know how to handle this type of situation and really didn’t want people to think she had tried to beat up everyone’s favorite student. _No one is going to believe this was an accident._

“Thanks for the offer, but I’ll be fine,” Kara said, as cheerful as ever. “It was just a tap.”

Lena wanted to argue with the blonde, but as far as she could tell, there seemed to be no reason for Kara to need any sort of medical attention.

Confident Lena was calmer now, Kara let go of her shoulders. Her eyes crossed as she looked at the condition of her glasses. “Well, I guess I shouldn’t be wearing these anymore.” Her tone was light and lacked the bitterness Lena assumed she would hear.

Kara pulled the ruined pair of glasses off her face, squinting once they were fully removed. Lena grew more worried as she watched the other girl wince slightly then squeeze her eyes shut, her hands coming up to massage her temples. Lena was afraid the blonde had only been acting tough when in reality she had been majorly hurt.

Just as Lena was about to drag Kara to the nurse’s office, she opened her eyes again. “I’m fine,” she said, trying to reassure Lena as she placed her glasses in her back pocket. “You wouldn’t believe how many pairs I’ve broken myself.”

Her voice was strained, but Lena decided not to mention it. _I’m not worried about your glasses, I’m worried about you_ , is what Lena wanted to say, but Kara clearly wanted to move on from the situation.

“I know I basically just punched you in the face, but did you still want to walk with me?” Lena asked even though she was feeling entirely too guilty at the moment.

“I said I would before! Why would I not now?”

After meeting Kara’s questioning gaze, Lena was positive her brain stopped working and she forgot how to breathe. _Did her eyes get even bluer? No, that’s ridiculous, all she did was take off her glasses!_

“Wow, your eyes are gorgeous.”

“Oh, uh, thank you? Yours are too!”

Confused by Kara’s response, Lena’s eyes went wide once she realized she said that thought out loud.

_Wait, did she say mine are gorgeous too?_ The tips of her ears began to burn due to the compliment.

“We can go now,” was all Lena could muster up the courage to say as she started to walk toward the exit.

“Right! You lead the way,” Kara replied, her cheeks tinged pink. “I can carry your books and stuff if you want.”

The offer was endearing, but Lena never would have accepted it, especially not after she nearly broke the blonde’s nose with a lock only moments ago. It was almost funny how the most chivalrous and gentlemanly person Lena knew turned out to be a teenage girl rather than a guy.

“I am fully capable of carrying my own belongings.”

“Of course you are, I was just asking.” Kara reached up to her nose, forgetting she was no longer wearing glasses, and ended up tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

The motion didn’t go unnoticed by Lena. She had seen the blonde do it before and she thought the action was cute. She liked that Kara was nervous around her and didn’t try to act like she was calm and collected all the time. It was nice to be around a person who wasn’t pretending to be someone else.

Lena reached the exit door first and held it open for Kara. As the blonde walked through, Lena saw her eyes squint once more. _I hope she can see where she’s going without her glasses. Maybe I should have her walk in front of me and steer her away from any trees…_

Kara, however, seemed to be doing just fine on her own. They were walking side by side, their hands occasionally brushing. Every time Lena inched away from the blonde, Kara would close the distance once more and periodically glance over at Lena. She smiled enthusiastically whenever she saw Lena looking her way. Her nose scrunched up more when she did that, or maybe it was just more noticeable without a pair of glasses blocking part of her face. Either way, Lena couldn’t stop staring.

“Is there something on my face?” Kara asked, running her hands over her cheeks and forehead anxiously.

“No, I’m just making sure you’re not developing any nasty bruises around your eyes.” It wasn’t entirely false, Lena _was_ concerned about Kara’s wellbeing, but she figured a bruise would appear later on if it hadn’t already.

Kara relaxed and dropped her hands back down, stuffing them in her pockets. “I don’t bruise easily, you don’t have to worry.”

Lena really hoped so. If the blonde showed up to school tomorrow with a black eye, or two, Lena would end up leaving the campus out of shame.

The two continued to walk, eventually coming upon the parking lot full of students. Some were leaving in cars, others were waiting for the bus, a few were riding off on bikes or skateboards, and the rest were either talking to friends or getting ready for after school activities. Watching everyone rushing around made Lena realize just how exhausted she was. She successfully finished her first day at _another_ new school, and she couldn’t wait to go back home.

Lena stopped in front of a black Mercedes-Benz, and Kara’s jaw nearly dropped to the ground.

“This is your car?!” the blonde asked, staring at the vehicle in awe.

Suddenly feeling self-conscious, Lena reached into her bag and pulled out a set of keys to busy herself. “If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t ask for it. It was a gift.”

Kara was leaning down, inspecting her reflection in the car door. “It’s so shiny!” she said, making faces at herself. “To be completely honest, I expected you to have a really expensive car, like a Ferrari or a Lamborghini.”

Lena scoffed. “My father and brother enjoy those types of cars, but not me. I prefer to drive something more practical. I try not to draw unnecessary attention to myself.” She unlocked the vehicle, but before she could get to the door, Kara was already tugging it open for her.

“That’s understandable. I would always be worried about crashing if I drove something that cost a lot of money,” Kara said, waiting for Lena to sit down in the driver’s seat.

Placing her bag in the passenger seat, Lena slid into the car and rolled the window down. The other girl closed the door once Lena was inside and leaned down so the two were eye level.

“Drive safely, okay?”

“I will. And thank you, again, for walking with me even after I broke your glasses.”

Kara smiled, making the sun seem dull in comparison. “I said don’t worry about it, I have spare glasses back home.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Even though it was a statement, Lena made it sound like a question. Kara was supposed to show her around, but she felt like she had a good grasp on where all of her classes were by now. She didn’t want the other girl to feel obligated to spend time with her if she didn’t really want to.

“You bet! Wait, put your number in my phone so I’ll know where you’ll be.” Kara grabbed her phone out of her back pocket and handed it to Lena through the window.

Lena took it and found her own phone as well, offering it to Kara. Once the other girl had taken it, Lena searched for the contacts app on the foreign device in her hand. _Why are other people’s phones so confusing?_

Kara’s background made Lena smile. It was a photo of the blonde looking ecstatic as she held up a black cat who appeared to be rather bored at the concept of taking pictures. It was much more personal than Lena’s. She hadn’t even changed it from the factory settings from when she first acquired her phone.

Finally finding the correct app, Lena input her name and number, and passed the phone back to Kara.

“Your cat is adorable.”

“Isn’t he?! His name is Streaky. I found him a few years ago out on the streets. He was my first real friend in Midvale.”

_Oh my god that’s the cutest thing I’ve ever heard. Don’t tear up Lena, that would just be weird._

“Well I should get going! I have to be at the meeting for the school paper soon,” Kara added, moving back away from Lena’s car.

Lena started the ignition but didn’t leave just yet. “Thank you for being my first real friend in Midvale.”

Kara grinned shyly, her expression satisfied once she realized she had been able to pass on the feelings she felt when she first experienced Streaky’s irreplaceable companionship to someone else.

“Text me tomorrow! Oh, and read my article, I wanna know what you think,” Kara exclaimed, remembering she had given Lena a clip of hers that had been published in the school’s paper.

“Of course, and I’ll let you go now.”

Kara started to jog back toward the school, but she turned around once more to wave and shout “BYE LENA!” at the top of her lungs, effectively alerting everyone nearby about the interaction between the two girls. Lena felt her face grow red for what felt like the hundredth time of the day as she rolled her car window back up.

_What have I gotten myself into? That girl is going to send me to an early grave._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who left kudos, commented, subscribed, or bookmarked this story so far! I wasn't expecting anyone to really be interested in this at all. I've been having a lot of fun writing it and coming up with ideas for it, and I hope you will continue to enjoy it!


	3. Say You'll See Me Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted to get this out a few days ago, but I've been busier than usual. I hope it's okay, and any mistakes are all mine!

A soft buzzing noise pulled Lena back into consciousness. Her brain, foggy from sleep, wasn’t able to fully comprehend from where the sound was coming.

_What time even is it?_

There was no light shining through her window, so she knew it wasn’t morning yet. Feeling around for her phone on her nightstand, she eventually grabbed the device and looked at the time. It was a little past 3 a.m., and she realized it was a text message that had woken her up.

_Wait, why is Kara texting me now?_

Lena unlocked her phone and opened the little green messaging app.

**Kara Danvers (3:07am):** STREAKY!!!

A picture was attached to the message. Lena, her mind still lagging behind, turned the brightness up to properly see the image. The lower half of Kara’s face was visible, but the rest of it was covered by the same black cat Lena had seen before in the other girl’s phone background.

**Lena Luthor (3:13am):** There’s no denying how adorable that photo is, but why are you sending it at 3am?

**Kara Danvers (3:14am):** Lena! Omg I hope I didn’t wake you up…

**Lena Luthor (3:14am):** Don’t worry, I was already awake

Lena didn’t want Kara to feel bad, especially not after sending such an adorable picture. Besides, she didn’t really mind. It’s not like Kara meant to wake her up.

**Kara Danvers (3:15am):** Oh okay good! Well I’ll let you sleep now

Lena wasn’t sure why, but she didn’t want Kara to go just yet. Her eyes were feeling heavy, but she still wanted to talk to the other girl.

**Lena Luthor (3:17am):** Wait, did you maybe want to do something after school later?

Staring at her phone, Lena could not believe she had just sent that text. _Why am I like this? Ugh, nothing good happens after 2 a.m., and now she probably won’t text me anymore._ A few minutes passed by, each second dragging Lena further away from reality as her mind created the worst possible outcomes that could result from such a careless text.

The vibration of her phone startled her, the beating of her heart accelerating.

**Kara Danvers (3:20am):** Of course! But I have practice today… I wouldn’t want to make you wait

_Oh my god. She said yes? What? Why did she say yes?!_

**Lena Luthor (3:21am):** I could stay for your practice

_God Lena, desperate much?_

**Kara Danvers (3:22am):** That would be awesome! Are you sure? It’s probably not that fun to watch

**Lena Luthor (3:22am):** I want to see why everyone thinks you’re a god

**Kara Danvers (3:23am):** I hope I live up to expectations!

**Kara Danvers (3:23am):** You should really sleep now though

**Kara Danvers (3:23am):** It’s late and you have school

**Kara Danvers (3:23am):** Well I have school too

**Kara Danvers (3:23am):** Obviously we both have school

**Kara Danvers (3:24am):** You’re probably tired right?

**Kara Danvers (3:24am):** I’ll stop now

Lena smiled down at her phone, the bombard of messages warming her heart. _How can one person be so cute?_

**Lena Luthor (3:25am):** Goodnight Kara, I’ll see you later

**Kara Danvers (3:25am):** Sleep well!!

The array of heart emojis and smiling faces that followed the other girl’s last text caught Lena off guard. She never really used emojis herself and rarely messaged anyone else who did. Of course Kara would, she seemed like an expressive person.

Lena scrolled through the extensive list of emojis on her phone and chose a single red heart. Before she could change her mind, she tapped the small blue button that would send the message. Once it was delivered, she hastily placed her phone face down on her nightstand.

_Don’t freak out, it’s just an emoji. It doesn’t mean anything._

Pulling her sheets back up to her neck, Lena forced her overbearing thoughts down as she let her mind slip away into unconsciousness. A certain black cat crept his way into her dreams, his owner also making a few appearances as the night faded into dawn.

* * *

Lena’s morning was going relatively well. She met with Kara out in front of the school before it started, and the blonde had walked her to her first class of the day. Since Kara’s first classes were in a different building, Lena told her not to worry about escorting her to her other classrooms.

It was only the second day of the school year, but Lena already knew the material wasn’t going to be much of a challenge for her to comprehend. Business law, her first class, was covering concepts she had seen many times before. Growing up as a Luthor, she knew how to effectively operate a successful business by the age of 9. In her family, the laws were seen as recommendations rather than something set in stone to follow.

By now, Lena was in her AP Computer Science class. She was enjoying it, mostly because the teacher, Dr. Spheer, was no doubt a genius. Lena was excited to learn from someone who was clearly knowledgeable in a wide variety of topics and issues, but at the moment, she just wanted to leave. It was almost the end of third period, and Lena wanted to see Kara again in her next class.

A few seconds after the bell rang, Lena was at the door. It was unlike her to pack her things up before the class officially ended, she thought it was a bit rude to make so much noise while the teacher was still talking, but today she was overly excited to leave. She did, however, throw a quick, “Thank you for the lesson, Dr. Spheer!” over her shoulder as she made her way out into the hall.

AP Physics was in an upstairs classroom, so Lena made her way to the staircase and stood there, watching Griffin Hall’s entrance doors for Kara. She knew the other girl’s third class was held in another building, but she wasn’t sure which one. If it was in Seidler, it would take her a bit longer to reach Griffin.

Approximately three minutes later –not that Lena was counting– she saw a familiar face among a crowd of students. Lena had almost forgotten their encounter by the lockers yesterday, but once she remembered, she quickly scanned Kara’s face for any sign of injury. Relieved by the lack of bruising around the blonde’s eyes, Lena waved, hoping to capture Kara’s attention.

Kara looked up, her eyes shining brightly as she waved back. The boy beside her looked over as well, his features twisting with confusion when he saw to whom Kara was waving.

Lena recognized that look all too well. She saw his jaw set, a slight frown making its way onto his face. Lena didn’t even have to know his name to have a good guess at what he was thinking. She had met hundreds of people with similar expressions in the past, people who hadn’t even met her. _He clearly knows who I am._

She shrunk back into the wall slightly as Kara approached and stood next to Lena, the boy cautiously following a few paces behind.

“Hi Lena! You ready for class?” Kara asked, as chipper as ever, despite the fact that she seemed to have gotten barely any sleep before coming to school.

“I think so, but Ms. Grant is a bit… intimidating.”

The boy, presumably a friend of Kara’s, spoke up, his voice a bit strained. “Ms. Grant? She’s not so bad, she just believes it’s her job to make students see their full potential.”

“Oh! Lena, this is James, we’re on the football team together. James, this is Lena,” Kara said, realizing she hadn’t introduced them.

“I know who she is,” James responded coldly.

Lena could practically hear his teeth grinding as he forced himself to keep a neutral expression on his face. Being in Kara's presence was such a new change of pace for Lena, and she had almost forgotten who she was herself. James, however, reminded her there were always going to be people like him in the world who judged her straightaway and didn't trust her simply because of what her family has done.

She subtlety inched closer to Kara.

Kara watched the interaction, her eyebrows pulling together as James poorly hid the hostile looks he was sending Lena’s way.

“Well Lena and I have to get to class, I’ll see you later James,” Kara said, grabbing Lena’s arm as she began to walk up the stairs.

“Right,” James uttered, turning toward the building’s exit, his posture rigid as he tromped away.

Kara's gaze followed him as he went, a hint of sadness visible in her eyes. “I’m sorry about him.”

“I’m used to it.”

“What? That’s terrible!” Kara’s sadness was instantly replaced by disbelief and irritation.

“His reaction was actually quite tame. I think you’re the only person who’d be surprised that most people wouldn't touch a Luthor with a ten-foot pole.”

The blonde frowned at the comment. She didn’t say anything as they reached the top of the stairs and turned left down a short hallway. Kara kept her hand around Lena’s arm, leading her to their shared classroom.

“At least I’m not late today, Ms. Grant can’t yell at me,” Kara said, changing the subject to a lighter topic.

Lena offered the other girl a small smile, grateful for the distraction. “I’m sure she’ll find a reason to call you out during the period.”

Pulling the door open for Lena, Kara pouted. “You’re probably right,” she responded, sighing heavily.

Entering the room, the students who arrived early all turned to stare at the two girls. Rumors had begun to spread yesterday about Kara and Lena’s alleged friendship, but many had not seen the girls interact much firsthand.

Lena ducked her head down, trying to ignore the whispers as she made her way to the back of the class.

“Did they really come to class together?”

“Kara can do so much better.”

“Why can’t she walk me to class? I’m way prettier...”

Sitting down, Lena looked up to find Kara dropping down into the seat beside her, apparently unfazed by the stares from their classmates.

Kara leaned closer toward Lena so she could keep her voice low while the other girl could still hear her. “What do you think we’re going to do today?”

Lena glanced around, taking into account the various students who were indiscreetly trying to eavesdrop on their conversation. “I don’t know, hopefully something interesting so everyone will stop staring at us.”

“Wait, what?” Kara's voice was higher than usual.

“Ms. Danvers, already interrupting my class before it’s even started, how overzealous of you,” Ms. Grant said as she walked into the classroom just as the final bell rang.

Her entrance, at the very least, caused the rest of the students to snap their heads to the front of the room. Lena, dropping her shoulders in relief, was thankful their attention had moved on from her. Kara, on the other hand, tried to sink lower in her seat, away from Ms. Grant’s sharp eyes.

The teacher began to discuss something, but Lena wasn’t fully listening. She was watching Kara, who had taken a notebook out of her bag and furiously took notes while Ms. Grant spoke.

“-you’ll be pairing off, you can choose who you work with, but if I disapprove of the pairings, I’ll re-assign partners.”

Lena absolutely despised group projects. Working with other people always ended badly for her. Once they realized how intelligent she was, they always slacked off and never did anything. If she didn’t care so much about her grades, she would’ve let them fail. But she always wanted to do well, even if that meant doing everyone else’s part.

“Lena?”

Turning in her seat to face the other girl, Lena was met with an inquisitive gaze.

“Did you say something?”

Kara shifted awkwardly in her chair. “I was wondering if you maybe wanted to be my partner?” The blonde gave her a hopeful look, one Lena could never say no to even if she wanted.

“That would be great since you’re the only person I know in this class.”

Kara beamed at her, then stood up and walked to the front of the classroom. She approached Ms. Grant, informing their teacher about their pairing.

Lena couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she saw Ms. Grant shoot a disapproving glance in her direction. Despite that, she seemed to agree with whatever Kara was telling her. 

Once they finished talking, Kara turned around and gave Lena two thumbs up, enthusiastically weaving her way through the room's desks back to her seat beside Lena. 

_I suddenly love working with other people._

* * *

At the end of the school day, Lena sent Kara a text asking her where she was. They had lunch together again, but this time in the cafeteria. Lena had met a few more of Kara’s friends during the period, and, thankfully, they had been much more welcoming than James. He was present as well but kept his distance and only spoke if someone directly asked him a question.

Sam was there too, and even though they only talked occasionally, Lena already determined she greatly liked the other girl. Kara was just happy Lena seemed to be getting along with her friends. She still seemed a bit guilty about James and how he acted around Lena.

Lena felt her phone vibrate from Kara’s response.

**Kara Danvers (3:06pm):** Walking down the stairs in Griffin!

**Lena Luthor (3:06pm):** Okay I’m near the front door there

The message hadn’t even been delivered yet when Lena saw Kara coming toward her. The blonde had been waving, but Lena didn’t notice as she was looking down at her phone.

“Hey! Do you still want to come to practice with me?” The blonde was practically bouncing on the spot, her entire frame emitting excited energy.

“Of course!” Lena said. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” She added a wink for good measure even though the voice in her mind told her not to.

Kara tugged on the straps of her backpack, nervously occupying her hands. Lena saw her cheeks were much more red than usual, and grinned at the affect she had on the blonde.

“W-well you know where the field is! Let’s go!”

“Wait, shouldn’t we go to our lockers first?”

Kara, already halfway out the door, stopped in her tracks. “Duh!” she exclaimed, slapping a hand over her face. “Gosh I’m so dumb, thank you for having a functional brain today.”

“I believe your brain is exceptionally functional,” Lena said, hoping the other girl wouldn’t be too hard on herself.

“I also need to go to Merwin Hall, that’s where my homeroom class is. My bag is there since it’s too big to fit in my locker.”

“I’ll wait for you here.” Lena’s locker was luckily in Griffin Hall, which was where her first and last class were held. It was nice to not have to travel too far before and after school, but it seemed like Kara had to continuously walk back and forth between the campus buildings.

“Okay, I’ll be really fast!” Kara took off and ran out the front door before Lena could say anything else. 

As Lena came up to the hall with stacks upon stacks of students’ lockers, she spotted a few guys huddled close by where hers was located. She would have to go passed them, but she really didn’t want to do that.

To be honest, whenever she saw a group of high school boys dressed in letterman jackets, her first thought was to immediately turn around and run in the opposite direction. Her experiences with those types of students were never pleasant, and she didn’t think this group deserved the benefit of the doubt.

_How am I going to get there without them noticing me?_

Trying to be as nonchalant as possible, Lena carefully made her way toward them. She had her phone in her hand and looked down at it, pretending to be otherwise occupied.

She was four strides away from her locker when one boy shouted in her direction.

“Hey Luthor!” The tallest one from the group was coming up to Lena despite all her best efforts to ignore them.

_Well I guess I’ll have to talk to these idiots after all…_

“Mike, come on man, leave her alone,” a different boy said, shooting Lena an apologetic look.

_At least one of them isn’t entirely terrible._

“I just wanna talk to her, no big deal,” the first one, Mike, added.

Kara may be the one everyone talks the most about, but Lena had heard of this guy even though she hadn’t been at Midvale for long. Mike Matthews had his fair share of comments as well, and from the various rumors, Lena knew he had been the quarterback before Kara. He wasn’t exactly thrilled that a girl had taken his place in what was considered the manliest position on the team.

Lena was close enough to her locker by now and started to enter in the combination to open the padlock. She noticed a large hand make its way onto the locker beside her and rolled her eyes at the person it was connected to.

“I said ‘ _Hey Luthor_ ’,” Mike sneered, her last name coming off his tongue like a foul curse word.

She turned to him, clearly annoyed by his presence. “What do you want?” Lena didn't know him personally, but she felt like he was going to say something stupid.

“I’ve heard some things about you,” he dragged his eyes up and down her body without discretion, a lopsided smirk curling his lips upward. “Is it true you and Kara are hanging out?”

“That’s none of your business.” Lena hated him already. He definitely wasn't someone she wanted to associate herself with, and he was just downright creepy.

Mike tilted his head closer to Lena, using his greater height to try to intimidate her. The excessive amount of body spray clinging to his clothes was making her eyes water. _God what even is that smell? Week-old tree bark?_ She didn’t like how close he was and leaned back away from him.

“It is my business because she’s my girlfriend.”

The statement was like freezing cold water that someone had dumped over her head.

“What?” was all Lena could say in response. _There’s no way Kara would date this guy. He has to be lying._

“You heard me,” Mike said, his tone condescending. “I take her to the bone zone all the time.”

At that remark, all of the shock left Lena’s system and she erupted into laughter.

“I’m sorry, you _what_? Are you _twelve_?”

The other boys from the group let out a collective “Ooooooooohh” and started cackling at Mike’s expense.

He whipped around and stalked up to them, grabbing the nearest boy by the collar of his shirt. “Don’t you laugh at me Raymond, I’ll make your life _miserable_.”

The one boy who told Mike to leave Lena alone in the beginning shoved his way in between the two and pulled Mike’s arm away. “Shut up, Mike. Let’s just go, we need to get to practice anyway.” Once again, he offered Lena another repentant glance, silently apologizing with his eyes.

“What are you eggheads doing here?!”

Lena snapped her head around, finding Kara standing at the end of the hallway with a duffle bag over her shoulder. _Only she could call these neanderthals eggheads and make it sound like a horrible insult._

“Mind your own damn business Kara!” Mike spat out, purposefully shoving into her on his way out of the hall.

The interaction was confusing to Lena, especially since he just claimed the two of them were dating. _Why would he act that way with his girlfriend?_ Lena noticed the way Mike rubbed his shoulder, cringing in pain once he believed Kara wasn’t watching him anymore.

The other boys followed him, seemingly scared of Kara as she stood tall and gave them all harsh stares.

“Were they bothering you?” Kara asked, strolling down the hall and stopping in front of Lena.

“Nothing I couldn’t handle.” Lena finally got into her locker and began sorting through which books she needed to take home and which ones could stay.

“Are you sure? Mike can be… vulgar,” Kara said while she opened her own locker.

“That’s putting it lightly.”

“So he _did_ bother you!” The blonde threw some books into her duffle bag then slammed the locker door shut. “He’s going to have a tough practice today.”

Lena wanted to ask Kara if she was actually dating Mike, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it just yet.

The two girls clasped their respective locks around the metal doors that hid their belongings and walked side-by-side out of the building.

“You know, he’s asked me out, like, seven times now,” Kara stated offhandedly, swinging her arms back and forth steadily.

_Turns out I didn’t have to bring it up first after all._

“He said you were his girlfriend.”

Kara’s arms halted mid-swing, and her eyes shot open, practically popping out of her skull. “He _what_?!”

Elated by the response, Lena continued. “Yes, he told me you two were dating and that he, and I quote, takes you ‘to the bone zone all the time’.”

Judging by the amount of wheezing coming from Kara, if she had been drinking something, Lena was sure the other girl would’ve spit everywhere.

“The _bone zone_?! Who even says that!”

“Apparently Mike Matthews.”

Kara’s laughter wasn’t dying down anytime soon, so Lena eventually joined her.

“Gosh,” Kara held onto her sides, barely getting words out in between the giggles she couldn’t contain. “Now there’s a person who shouldn’t be touched with a ten-foot pole. No, make it a twenty-foot pole, he’s just that bad.”

“Why would he say you were his girlfriend?”

“He’s probably still bitter about me being quarterback instead of him.”

“What exactly is the story behind that anyway? I’ve heard some things, but I don’t know how accurate they are.”

“Well,” Kara began while readjusting the duffle bag hanging over her shoulder. “During his freshman year, he was the back-up quarterback for the first-string quarterback, Jake Howell. Jake ended up blowing his knee out near the beginning of the season. I think he tore his ACL or MCL, I can’t remember which. Anyway, the Stallions, that’s us if you didn’t know, had a winning record with Mike as quarterback, but it wasn’t good enough to get us to the playoffs. I think it was 6-4 or something. So Mike was the quarterback for part of his freshman year and part of his sophomore year. I replaced him halfway through his sophomore year once the coach saw me throw. Mike was very angry about that. He’s still on the team and does pretty well as a wide receiver, but he’s still furious a girl is the quarterback. I guess he thinks if he can’t be the quarterback, he should at least be able to _date_ the quarterback, if that makes any sense.”

Kara barely took any breaths as she told the story of Mike, and Lena thought she might pass out from lack of oxygen. She had a hard time following Kara’s fast speaking, but she believed she understood all the important parts.

“What’s your record?” Lena was curious and wanted to know how the two quarterbacks measured up against each other.

“8-2. I got us to the playoffs last year. Mike was so upset he went on strike. He didn’t play because I ‘didn’t pass the ball to him enough’, but the team didn’t really miss him. This freshman stepped up and did really well in his place.”

“He sounds lovely.”

“Oh yeah, he’s the best. Just wait until you see him today, he usually complains the whole time we practice.”

“Why doesn’t the coach kick him off the team?”

“I think the coach thinks if he did that, Mike would just cause more issues than he already does,” Kara said as the two girls approached the bleachers.

Lena felt a bit more carefree than she had before now that she knew Kara wasn’t dating someone like Mike. _But that still doesn’t mean she’s single… Wouldn’t she have mentioned being someone else’s girlfriend though?_ She was lost in her thoughts, not hearing Kara speak. The blonde had to wave her hands in front of Lena’s face to regain her attention.

“I’m sorry Kara, what was that?”

“I said I need to go change,” she pointed towards a small building off to the side of the bleachers, “but I’ll be right back!”

“I’ll be here,” Lena replied, setting her bag on the ground beside her feet.

Kara smiled brilliantly at Lena then dashed off toward what Lena assumed was some sort of locker room for the players. _Wait, does she change in front of all the guys on the team?_ The thought made Lena uneasy, her insides churning uncomfortably. _The school wouldn’t make her do that, would they?_

A few moments later, Kara was already exiting the building with her hair pulled back and her glasses gone. She had changed into a pair of burgundy football pants and a white sports bra. She had a practice jersey laying over her shoulder and was carrying her shoulder pads in one hand and a pair of cleats in the other.

All Lena could do was stare, her mouth hanging open at the sight. Teenage girls swooning over football players all made sense to her now.

_No wonder they enjoy watching guys fight over a weirdly shaped ball…_

She wasn’t sure she was going to survive the next two hours if Kara was dressed like that the entire time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: all the building names are real buildings from my school, but it's a college, not a high school. If the layout of Midvale High seems a bit wonky, that's probably because it's based on a section of my college campus. Once again, thank you all for the love and support!!


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